In the Know: The Everygirl’s News Now

“You’re saying, no, state marriage [is] the full marriage, and then this sort of skim milk marriage.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, addressing arguments for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on March 27

WEEK OF MARCH 25, 2013

World: North Korea is making a lot of noise, and now we’re in on it too.
Tension over North Korea’s third nuclear test has escalated over the past month. This Wednesday, North Korea cut off most of its military hotlines with the South, leaving fewer lines of communication in case of emergency (the kind of emergency that might start a war). And Thursday, the U.S. military announced that two nuclear-capable stealth bombers had run a practice drill over South Korea, demonstrating the U.S. commitment to stand by its allies. All of this chest-pounding is reason to be nervous, but don’t sound the alarms just yet. This kind of thing has happened before.

Politics: Seeing a lot of equal signs on your Facebook feed? It’s not about math.
After two days of deliberations on the hot-button issue of marriage equality, it seems likely that the Supreme Court will invalidate the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Currently DOMA mandates that federal benefits are only applicable to heterosexual married couples regardless of state laws. On Wednesday, key swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy questioned whether this issue should be left to the states to decide. Would a vote to declare DOMA unconstitutional be a sweeping endorsement of same-sex marriage? No. But it would be a big step in the right direction.

Business: Wall Street is worried. Mostly about Europe.
The market has hit another high but worries about Europe’s debt crisis remains. Cyprus’ banks reopened Thursday for the first time in almost two weeks, but not without strict controls to prevent a widespread bank run in an already troubled economic climate. Italy’s struggles to form a new government also come as a concern, a month after national elections failed to yield a majority. Looks like this volatile market might stick around.

Technology: Is it taking longer to load your favorite blogs? Here’s why.
The Interweb is currently embroiled in one of the largest computer attacks ever waged, causing widespread congestion and jamming crucial infrastructure around the world. An Internet watchdog group responsible for keeping counterfeit ads out of inboxes has been hit by this massive cyberattack and the side effects are so big, they’ve spread to all of us. Bottom line: hackers are no fun; we’d hate for you to miss our news updates!

Women’s Affairs: Obama names first woman to lead the Secret Service.
Secret Service chief of staff Julia Pierson was sworn in Wednesday as the agency’s new director and the first woman ever appointed to the role. The often male-driven atmosphere of the agency has recently come under scrutiny, but with more than three decades of experience under her belt, Pierson is uniquely qualified to fill the role. Senator Tom Carper, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called the appointment “welcome news and a proud milestone.” How’s that for leaning in?

Sports: The Madness continues. It’s Sweet Sixteen time!Upsets and down-to-the-buzzer victories have had us glued to our screens. In-the-know update from the women’s tournament: Delaware amazed, with their first ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen and star Elena Delle Donne became the ninth player in NCAA history with at least 3,000 career points. With all of the excitement, how did your bracket fare?